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Bernburg
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<h2 id="geography">Geography</h2> <p>The town centre is situated in the fertile <a href="/facts/Magdeburg_B%C3%B6rde/BD0yIR9G">Magdeburg Börde</a> lowland on the <a href="/facts/Saale/TsXT8HWA">Saale</a> river, approx. 40 km (25 mi) downstream from <a href="/facts/Halle,_Saxony-Anhalt/hJ3EBuMn">Halle</a> and 45 km (28 mi) up stream from <a href="/facts/Magdeburg/8SW8I5NB">Magdeburg</a>. It is dominated by the huge Bernburg Castle featuring a museum as well as a popular, recently updated bear pit in its moat. </p><p>The municipal area comprises the town Bernburg proper and eight <i>Ortschaften</i> or municipal divisions: Aderstedt (incorporated in 2003), <a href="/facts/Baalberge/BjGsG2MA">Baalberge</a>, <a href="/facts/Biendorf,_Saxony-Anhalt/SogvcLuu">Biendorf</a>, <a href="/facts/Gr%C3%B6na/9fY0cVYK">Gröna</a>, <a href="/facts/Pei%C3%9Fen,_Salzland/YdBCbymn">Peißen</a>, <a href="/facts/Poley,_Germany/KsYN964S">Poley</a>, <a href="/facts/Preu%C3%9Flitz/d8J0rBlj">Preußlitz</a>, and <a href="/facts/Wohlsdorf/mhvBdABQ">Wohlsdorf</a>, all incorporated on 1 January 2010.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p><p>Bernburg is a stop on the scenic <a href="/facts/Romanesque_Road/zSamDc5K">Romanesque Road</a> (<i>Strasse der Romanik</i>). </p> <h2 id="paleontology">Paleontology</h2> <p><a href="/facts/Holotype/a8n9vhHa">Type</a> <a href="/facts/Fossil/by7NzIA1">fossil</a> of <a href="/facts/Temnospondyl/lEoAzjJe">temnospondyl</a> amphibian <i><a href="/facts/Trematosaurus/zXz5JgC2">Trematosaurus brauni</a></i> was found in the Late <a href="/facts/Olenekian/kI4p4QoK">Olenekian</a> (Lower <a href="/facts/Triassic/r6CNxKXC">Triassic</a>) deposits of Merkel's Quarry, near Bernburg.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>Several archaeological sites in the area refer to the <a href="/facts/Walternienburg-Bernburg_Culture/X4EE1R5y">Walternienburg-Bernburg Culture</a>, a mid-Neolithic <a href="/facts/Funnelbeaker_culture/HchB0eSx">funnelbeaker culture</a> from about 3200 to 2800 BC. Agriculture on the fertile <a href="/facts/Loess/VpFUed3E">Loess</a> soil was already common in prehistoric times. Around 150 AD, a local settlement named <i>Luppia</i> was mentioned in the <i><a href="/facts/Geography_(Ptolemy)/gbCXgJR7">Geography</a></i> by <a href="/facts/Ptolemy/htudGQTQ">Ptolemy</a>. In the Early Middle Ages, the Saale River marked the border between the German <a href="/facts/Stem_duchy/5YDAp4Q9">stem duchies</a> in the west and the lands of the <a href="/facts/Polabian_Slavs/VLeppFbh">Polabian Slavs</a> in the east. </p><p>The present-day borough of Waldau (which became part of Bernburg in 1871) was first mentioned in a 782 deed and again in 806 as <i>Waladala</i> in the chronicles of <a href="/facts/Moissac_Abbey/NxncQwVr">Moissac Abbey</a>; the village church dedicated to St Stephen first appeared in 964, the nowadays building dates from around 1150. Bernburg itself was first mentioned as <i>civitas Brandanburg</i> in a 961 deed issued by King <a href="/facts/Otto_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor/W4EfIxXd">Otto I of Germany</a>. According to the <a href="/facts/Annalista_Saxo/vSbdu1w4">Annalista Saxo</a>, <i>Berneburch</i> Castle, then a possession of the <a href="/facts/House_of_Ascania/lquY4ut2">Ascanian</a> prince <a href="/facts/Albert_the_Bear/WLFPNWxA">Albert the Bear</a>, was set on fire by his enemies in 1138. In 1252 the rebuilt castle became the residence of Albert's great-grandson Prince <a href="/facts/Bernhard_I,_Prince_of_Anhalt-Bernburg/s1HruIok">Bernhard I of Anhalt-Bernburg</a>. </p> <h3>Bernburg memorial</h3> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Bernburg_Euthanasia_Centre/5dD1u1Xf">Bernburg Euthanasia Centre</a></p> <p>In the <a href="/facts/Nazi_Germany/8kRbqRpo">Nazi era</a> during <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>, a wing of the town's mental hospital was used for the so-called <a href="/facts/Action_T4/W18YzCo3">T-4 Euthanasia Programme</a>. The site today houses a memorial to commemorate the suffering of more than 14,000 victims. </p> <h3>Gallery</h3> <h2 id="twin-towns--sister-cities">Twin towns – sister cities</h2> <p class="note">See also: <a href="/facts/List_of_twin_towns_and_sister_cities_in_Germany/leG5Q1JN">List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany</a></p> <p>Bernburg is <a href="/facts/Sister_city/NVzDyA7v">twinned</a> with:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/Anderson,_Indiana/hYsrfGNf">Anderson</a>, United States (1998)</li> <li><a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3"></a> <a href="/facts/Fourmies,_Nord/LVA1fS4t">Fourmies</a>, France (1967)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Germany/paluuWBX"></a> <a href="/facts/Rheine/ShSxApUl">Rheine</a>, Germany (1990)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Poland/eXJ7fd0D"></a> <a href="/facts/Tarnowskie_G%C3%B3ry/nC9JcL1t">Tarnowskie Góry</a>, Poland (1983)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Czech_Republic/vJYLD66Q"></a> <a href="/facts/Chomutov/wbUbEQIM">Chomutov</a>, Czech Republic (1992)</li></ul> <h2 id="notable-people">Notable people</h2> <h3>Honorary citizen</h3> <p>Date of award </p> <ul><li>April 10, 1890: <a href="/facts/Otto_von_Bismarck/4EGd7TCI">Otto von Bismarck</a> (1815–1898)</li> <li>April 7, 1937 – March 26, 1946: <a href="/facts/Hermann_G%C3%B6ring/IvYCDBuy">Hermann Göring</a> (1893–1946)</li> <li>June 12, 1938 – March 26, 1946: <a href="/facts/Johann_Ludwig_Graf_Schwerin_von_Krosigk/kqHFDRGf">Johann Ludwig Graf Schwerin von Krosigk</a> (1887–1977)</li></ul> <p>All appointments of honorary citizens and the like from 1933 to 1945 were annulled.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <ul><li>February 24, 1950: <a href="/facts/Johannes_R._Becher/V9HoCVxe">Johannes R. Becher</a> (1891–1958)</li> <li>February 19, 1953: <a href="/facts/Hermann_Henselmann/aN1KFPYf">Hermann Henselmann</a> (1905–1995)</li> <li>February 5, 1967 – ?: <a href="/facts/Hilde_Benjamin/9W2TwcCv">Hilde Benjamin</a> (1902–1989)</li></ul> <h3>Sons and daughters of the city</h3> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Christoph_Rothmann/hBL9TlpI">Christoph Rothmann</a> (1550–1600), mathematician and astronomer of the 16th century</li> <li><a href="/facts/Sibylla_of_Anhalt/Mm48wl90">Sibylla of Anhalt</a> (1564–1614), Duchess of Württemberg</li> <li><a href="/facts/Wilhelm_Heinrich_Sebastian_Bucholz/NHy3o0QL">Wilhelm Heinrich Sebastian Bucholz</a> (1734–1798), official physician</li> <li><a href="/facts/Heinrich_Friedrich_von_Diez/oBHKq7SQ">Heinrich Friedrich von Diez</a> (1751–1817), diplomat and orientalist</li> <li><a href="/facts/Isaak_Markus_Jost/Un2UELNc">Isaak Markus Jost</a> (1793–1860), historian</li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Ferdinand_Reich/hNJTDFVx">Ferdinand Reich</a> (1799–1882), chemist and physicist</li> <li><a href="/facts/Herrman_S._Saroni/x91M1LlX">Herrman S. Saroni</a> (1824–1900), writer, composer and inventor</li> <li><a href="/facts/Hans_Reinowski/bT4TF7SB">Hans Reinowski</a> (1900–1977), politician</li> <li><a href="/facts/Herbert_Wei%C3%9Fbach/LwjxX20U">Herbert Weißbach</a> (1901–1995), actor</li> <li><a href="/facts/Ernst_Busch_(actor)/EMp2VDKF">Ernst Busch</a> (1900–1980), East German singer and actor, Busch was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize for 1970–71</li> <li><a href="/facts/Hilde_Benjamin/9W2TwcCv">Hilde Benjamin</a> (1902–1989), presiding judge in a series of political trials in the 1950s and Justice Minister of the GDR</li> <li><a href="/facts/Ruth_Lange_(athlete)/7RdJCksh">Ruth Lange</a> (1908–1994), shot putter and discus thrower</li> <li><a href="/facts/Otto_Knefler/p8Nxq3Jn">Otto Knefler</a> (1923–1986), soccer coach and player</li> <li><a href="/facts/Gerhard_D%C3%BCnnhaupt/XFXkon9b">Gerhard Dünnhaupt</a> (1927–2024), bibliographer and cultural historian</li> <li>Michael Müller (born 1948), politician</li> <li><a href="/facts/Rolf_Milser/BNNTdcG6">Rolf Milser</a> (born 1951), weight lifter</li> <li><a href="/facts/Heike_Hartwig/W05x16Ku">Heike Hartwig</a> (born 1962), athlete</li> <li><a href="/facts/Ingo_Wei%C3%9Fenborn/rk1e6Tbs">Ingo Weißenborn</a> (born 1963), fencer</li></ul> <h3>People who have worked on the ground</h3> <ul><li>Christian II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg (1767–1834), Prince and Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg</li> <li><a href="/facts/Friedrich_Adolf_Krummacher/PHm4jCVr">Friedrich Adolf Krummacher</a> (1767–1845), theologian, general superintendent in Bernburg 1812–1824</li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Wilhelm_von_K%C3%BCgelgen/2HmlIvMX">Wilhelm von Kügelgen</a> (1802–1867), early-romantic painter and author, in the service of the court of Bernburg</li> <li><a href="/facts/Richard_Wagner/XoFH4v69">Richard Wagner</a> (1813–1883), worked in 1834 in the Bernburg Hoftheater (Mozart operas)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Hermann_Hellriegel/YM6CeRFq">Hermann Hellriegel</a> (1831–1895), biologist and <a href="/facts/Agricultural_scientist/9EvBW7jo">agricultural scientist</a> in Bernburg 1880–1895</li> <li>Wilhelm Krüger (1857–1947), 25 years director of the agricultural test station Bernburg</li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Bernburg_Euthanasia_Centre/5dD1u1Xf">Bernburg Euthanasia Centre</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Wacker_Bernburg/N7PUA5sd">Wacker Bernburg</a> (1910–1945)</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bernburg (Saale). <a href="/facts/Wikisource/TrMdylNf">Wikisource</a> has the text of the <a href="/facts/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition/mPElbCRY">1911 <i>Encyclopædia Britannica</i></a> article "Bernburg". <ul><li><a href="http://www.bernburg.de/">Official Website of the city (in German)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.zoo-infos.de/zoos-en/43.html">Bernburg Zoo at Zoo-Infos.de (in English)</a></li> <li><a href="http://museumschlossbernburg.de/">Bernburg Castle</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Hauptsatzung der Stadt Bernburg (Saale) Archived 2022-01-21 at the Wayback Machine, December 2018. <a href="https://www.bernburg.de/media/dokumente/ortsrecht_neu/allgemeine_verwaltung_neu/hauptsatzung_12_12_2018.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.bernburg.de/media/dokumente/ortsrecht_neu/allgemeine_verwaltung_neu/hauptsatzung_12_12_2018.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Gebietsänderungen vom 01. Januar bis 31. Dezember 2010, Statistisches Bundesamt <a href="https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Laender-Regionen/Regionales/Gemeindeverzeichnis/Namens-Grenz-Aenderung/2010.html" target="_blank">https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Laender-Regionen/Regionales/Gemeindeverzeichnis/Namens-Grenz-Aenderung/2010.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Schoch, Rainer R. (2019-05-24). "Osteology of the temnospondyl Trematosaurus brauni Burmeister, 1849 from the Middle Buntsandstein of Bernburg, Germany". Palaeodiversity. 12 (1): 41. doi:10.18476/pale.v12.a4. ISSN 1867-6294. <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.18476/pale.v12.a4" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.18476/pale.v12.a4</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Stadtporträt". bernburg.de (in German). Bernburg (Saale). Retrieved 2021-02-08. <a href="https://www.bernburg.de/de/stadtportrait.html" target="_blank">https://www.bernburg.de/de/stadtportrait.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Beschluss der Magistratssitzung der Stadt Bernburg vom 26. März 1946 – Stadtarchiv Bernburg Findbuch 8/II-675 <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>